Should of Would of Could of Off of

[notb665]

I understand where the 'of' comes from when someone says something like "They should of painted it". It comes from "They should've painted it", really "They should have painted it".

But when someone says something like "I bought it off of the internet", where does that incorrection come from?

 

[noseall]

from

 

[megawatt]

Geordies maybe

 

[kevplumb]

wey thee meet bee reet bonny lad

 

[notb665]

No really, I'd like to know if anyone has some serious ideas on the etymology/philology - these things really bug me.

 

[Richardp]

What about ''off the shelf'' ?

 

[tim west]

Or off your rocker

 

[mlb3c]

No really, I'd like to know if anyone has some serious ideas on the etymology/philology - these things really bug me.

oh dear notb--i would suggest you turn a deaf ear if you ever visit the southern part of the US-there are numerous gramatical errors that will have you in an awkward twist...for instance: Where are you going? would be Where you going at? or where'd you get that at? instead of where did you get that from?...I would imagine the same would be true of your example...someone says it, doesnt get corrected...keeps on...passes it down from generation to generation...the end of civilization (civilisation) as we know it

 

[Space cat]

First things first:

where does that incorrection come from

When I was at school we were taught never to end a sentence with a preposition. The teacher demonstrated the error thus: "Never use a preposition to end a sentence with!"

Next, we Geordies would say "Agorrit off (or on) the internet." The word "agorrit" is Geordie and not, as some would claim, the third person singular of the latin verb "agorro" which doesn't exist. Furthermore, the word "agorrabit" is not the future imperfect tense of the same verb!

To return to the original question, what is the correct preposition to use in the sentence "I bought it --- the internet"? We buy things OFF shelves or the backs of lorries, FROM shops or salesmen, and, curiously, OVER the phone. I suppose that if the phone happens to be sitting in front of you on a shop counter then that last one would be correct! Some people do buy stuff ON, OFF, OVER or THROUGH the internet. If you want to be precise about what actually happens, you buy stuff BY WAY OF or USING the internet - and the same goes for the phone, by which we mean TELEphone.

Language evolves and so words like phone, vet, zoo and TV become standard English. (Try finding "sexy" in an old dictionary!) On the other hand, the phase OFF OF the internet is just plain MINGING.

PS: Is "ming" a verb as in "You ming." are can it only be used in the adjectival form "You're minging."?

 

[Softus]

On the other hand, the phase OFF OF the internet is just plain MINGING.

Is that single- or three-phase?

 

[Ricky2]

That is an explanation excellent Space cat.
Thanks for learning me proper-like

 

[Rider]

Hello Space cat - Your post was a pretty good lesson in English. It's a long time since I thought about sentences in terms of the correct usage of verbs, adverbs, prepositions etc. These days, a sentence either looks properly written to me or it doesn't. I've forgotten how to describe what is wrong with one that doesn't.

A composition's destination perhaps has a bearing on how correctly it should be written. I'm thinking in terms of formal letters to authorities for instance. In an informal place, such as a forum, rules can possibly be more relaxed. A post always looks properly written to me if reasonable care has been taken over spelling, capital letters and general structure. Also, strict rules don't allow for a writing style and therefore convey less about a person's personality.

Regarding the original question. I bought it off, from or on the Internet all seem reasonable to me. I'd probably write it as 'an item bought from the Internet', which is probably totally wrong.

I found this article about ending sentences with prepositions. I think I need to study this and other articles if I what I writes is going to look correctly wrote.

 

[Shutpa]

I'd probably use 'via' or 'through' but what does it matter if the meaning is crysal clear?

 

[Space cat]

Space cat wrote:
On the other hand, the phase OFF OF the internet is just plain MINGING.

Is that single- or three-phase?

Well spotted Softus. That's a lesson for me not to put too much faith in SPILL checkers!

 

[Softus]

I'd probably use 'via' or 'through' but what does it matter if the meaning is crysal clear?

Crysal? Shirley you're doing it on purpose now?